Doll



vDOLL.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 3 1920.

1,377,623. Patented my 10, 1921,

I TTORNEY UNITED STATES KOH ONO, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

DOLL.

Application filed June 3, 1920.

To (ZZZ whom it may concern Be it known that I, KoH ONo,'a subject of the Emperor of Japan, residing at New York city, New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Dolls, of which the following is a clear, full, and exact description.

This invention relates to dolls and particularly to walking dolls, and a general object of the invention is to provide a simple, strong, durable and yet relatively inexpensive walking doll structure which is mechanically superior to prior walking dolls of its general type.

The prior art in walking dolls of thegeneral type of that in which the present invention is embodied is represented. by United States Letters Patent to C. J. Simonot, No. 507,174, October 24, 1893, which discloses the use of a lever or rocker member connecting and fulcrumed between the legs of the doll for effecting the alternate forward and backward movement of the legs. In a recent Patent No. 1,269,056, June 11, 1918, to Frank Criest, a pull rod was added to a walking doll of the Simonot type, the

Criest doll operating otherwise in the same manner as the Simonot doll.

The present invention aims, both to simplify, to strengthen, and to render mechanically more effective the construction of walking dolls of the leg rocker type, and also so to construct such a doll that it will stand alone without special manipulation and careful balancing.

"An important feature of the invention is the extension of the legs of the doll into proximity to the shoulders and neck and the location of one of the pivotal connections between the legs and the trunk or body proper in the region of the shoulders and neck. This feature is important in that it contributes to the maintenance of the'center of gravity of the doll vertically above the area of the feet while yet providing suflicient freedom of relative movement of the parts to facilitate the walking movement. It will also further be noted that by this construction the center of gravity of those parts of the doll which are supported upon the legs is brought into proximity to the point of pivotal support upon the legs or the pivotal connection to the legs, whereby a slight movement of the body about the pivotal axis does not tend to throw the center of gravity outside the supporting area of the feet.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 10, 1921.

Serial No. 386,154.

Another important feature of the invent1on is the arrangementof the leg rocker at one side of the legs, whereby a natural separation of the legs is permitted and whereby greater freedom of relative movement of the parts is also permitted while at the same time the construction is simplified and its liability to get out of order is substantially eliminated.

Other important features and objects of the invention will appear from the following description and claims when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a front elevation of a doll em bodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the doll shown in Fig. 1, with the parts in walking posi-, t1on;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation on a reduced 7 scale, with the parts in standingposition';

Fig. 4: is a section on the line l4 of Fig. 2;

Fig; 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 6 is a sectional detail on the line 66 of Fig. 5.

The construction shown in the drawings is particularly adapted for the use of wood as the material from which the main parts of the leg and body structure are formed,

the head and arms of the doll being pref erably of ordinary composition construction. In the illustrated construction, the legs 2 are shown as formed of pieces of wood turned into cylindrical form and tapered at their lower ends to receive the feet preferably also formed of wood and connected to the legs in any suitable manner as by dowels, not shown. At their upper ends, the legs 2 are cut away upon their outer sides to form rabbets or recesses 6 which receive the dependingbody side pieces 8, shown as rectangular in form and connected at their back for the doll body, and which also pro vides a support for the rocker pivot 16 upon which the leg operating rocker or lever 18 is fulcrumed, this fulcrum or pivot 16 being located, as shown in the drawings, near the front face or edge of the intermediate body member 14: and the rocker or lever 18 extending in front of and being connected to the front sides of the legs 2.

7 As shown more clearly in Fig. 5 of the drawings, the lever or rocker 18 is preferably formed by bending up a piece of wire to an intermediate pivot receiving loop 20 substantially circular in outline and preferably somewiat larger than the pivot 16, the lever 18 at its ends being provided with elongated loops 22 which are connected to the fronts of the legs by straps 2d looped over one of the sides of the loops 22 and secured to the legs by any suitable means as, for example, by tacks 26.

The pivotal support for the legs is shown as comprising a pin 28 which may also be of wood and which extends through the body side pieces 8 and through the intermediate body member 10, the legs being bored at near their upper ends to receive the pin 28, the pin 28 being preferably somewhat smaller than the bearing openings 30 in the legs to provide for an easy movement of the legs in walking, and also to provide for such movement of the body relative to the legs as is necessary to permit the legs readily to assume the standing position upon the feet 4:-

.From an examination of Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings, it will be noted that the dolls head 32 is provided with a shoulder or bust portion 34: shaped to fit over the curved cross piece 10, the head being attached to this cross piece in any suitable manner, as,

for example, by driving nails through the part 3% into the cross piece. It will also be noted from an examination of Fig. 1 that the arms 36 are attached to the body substantially opposite the cross piece 10, a convenient method of attaching the arms being to drive nails 38 tlierethrough, the nails preferably passing through the body side pieces 8 and. into the ends of the cross piec l0. lVashers &0 may be provided between the heads of the'nails 38 and the arms 86 to pen mit the arms to be turned into different positions with relation to the body, as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings.

As shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings, the head is preferably so located upon the shoulder or cross piece 10 that the center of gravity is slightly in front of the pivotal axis of the pivot pin 28, whereby the body tends to rock into position to press the rocker or lever 18 against the front faces of the legs 2. The principal advantage of placing the head in this positlon is that more of the supporting surface of the feet 4-. extends 1n front of the vertical line through the pivot 28 than behind this line, and therefore with the center of gravity of the body of the doll thus located, there is not so much tendency for the doll to tip either backward or forward when placed on a slightly inclined surface. It will be understood, however, that even with the center of gravity of the body so located that there is a tendency to move the rocker lever 18 away from the legs 2 to the limit provided by the strap. loops 24, such dislocation of the center of gravity would have to be considerable to throw it outside the area of the feet i and to cause the doll to tip out of its standing position. The center of gravity of the head and body together is so near the pivotal axis of the pivot 28, when the head is located upon the shoulder piece 10 in a natural position, that a considerable rocking movement of the.

body about the axis of the pivot 28 must take place to throw the center of gravity outside of the supporting base of the feet i when the legs are in standing position.

To cause the doll to walk, the usual practice is to grasp the doll by the head, tip it very slightly backward. and then move it over the floor. This causes an alternate movement of the legs through the action of the lever o rocker 18, and one of the important advantages of the illustrated construction is that this movement is facilitated by having the point at which the propolling force is applied to the legs, that is, through the pivot 28, in relatively close proximity to the point at which the doll is grasped to effect the walxing movement, In piior constructions, the pivotal support of the legs been so far from the head that a considerable leverage is exerted against the hand by the reaction to the walking pressure, thus making it diiiicult for a small child to effect the walking movement of the doll. Furthermore, by extending the legs substantially to the shoulders of the doll hr in close proximity, as in the illustrated construction, and having the rocker member 18 located at considerable distance from the pivotal support of the legs, a considerable leverage is provided for transmitting the walking movement through the rocker member 18 from one leg to the other. Moreover, by connecting the rockerloosely upon the fronts of the legs, freedom from great structural strength, of high mechanical efliciency, and which, by. reason of the construction and arrangement of the parts, Will quickly assume a standing position without special manipulation or careful balancing, and which, moreover, will imitate more closely the walking action of a child than most constructions of the prior art, since the leg length tends to give the step length characteristic of a child of the height of the doll. The likeness to actual walking is also helped by the fact that the doll can stand alone before and after the walking movement.

Although the illustrated construction is one that is especially suited to manufacture with wood as the material, it will be understood that the invention is not restricted to the particular material from which the structure is made nor to the particular struc tural details and shapes herein illustrated and described.

Although the doll may be formed from various materials, the mechanism for effect ing the walking movement of the legs is preferably so constructed as to be substantially noiseless. In the illustrated construction, for example, the pivot 16 is preferably formed of wood and the straps 2% may be formed of leather, cloth, or other. suitable noise deadening material. I

' What I claim as new is- 1. A walking doll comprising a body, legs pivoted upon said body to swing thereon, a pivot intermediate between the sides of salt body, and a lever fulcrumed on said pivot and slidably connected to each leg upon an outer face thereof at a point below the leg pivot. v

2. A walking doll comprising a head suport le a )ivot sus ended from said head support upon Which said legs swing, an intermediate member carried by said head support and having a pivot thereon, a lever fulcrumed upon said pivot, having its arms projecting over corresponding outer sides of said legs and slidably connected to each leg upon said side.

3. A walking doll comprising a head supporting cross piece, body side pieces depending from the ends of said cross piece, legs, a pivotal support for said legs extending between said side pieces, and upon which said legs are confined between said side pieces, an intermediate body member depending from said cross piece between said legs, and a leg-controlling lever fulcrumed on said intermediate member.

A walking doll having, in combination, a rectangular frame comprising an upper member shaped to receive the head of the doll, a lower member formed as a pivot to support the legs, and two side members connecting said upper and lower members, legs pivoted on said lower member between said side members, a leg separating member carried by said frame between said legs, and a leg operating and controlling lever fulcrumed upon said separating member and pivotally connected to said legs.

A walking doll having, in combination, a body frame, comprising a head supporting cross piece, arms and depending side pieces connected to said cross piece, legs, and a pivot carried by said side pieces upon which said legs are pivoted between said side pieces, a lever pivotally and slidably connected to said legs upon outer faces thereof, and a member secured to said body frame, a pivot for said lever carried by said member and located so that the axis of the lever lies intermediate between the side pieces of said frame and offset to one side of said legs in the direction of the walking movement thereof.

6. A walking doll comprising a body, a head carried upon said body, legs pivoted upon said body to swing thereon in walking, a lever fulcrumed upon said body intermediate between the sides thereof and pivoally and slidably connected to said legs below the pivotal connection of the legs to the body, the lever being located at a distance from said connection greater than the distance between said connection and the upper limit of the body, and the legs being pivoted upon said body in such proximity to the shoulders that the distance from the pivot to the top of the head of the doll is very much less than the distance from the pivot to the surface upon which the doll stands.

7. A. walking doll, comprising a body, legs pivoted upon said body to swing thereon in walking and a lever fulcrumed on'said body to swing on an aXiS located intermediate between the sides thereof. and means for connecting the lever with an outer face of each of the legs constructed and arranged to allow lost motion between the lever and the legs but to limit positively the relative movement thereof.

8. A walking doll, comprising a body and legs, said body comprising a pivot for each leg and a support for said pivot upon both the outer and the inner sides of said leg, and a lever fulcrumed on said body to swing on an axis located intermediate between the sides thereof and having a slidable connection to each leg at a point in one of the outer faces of said leg lying substantially in the median plane through said leg normal to its pivot.

9. A. walking doll, comprising a body, legs pivoted upon said body to swing thereon in walking, a lever fulcrumed on said body intermediate between the sides thereof and having its arms slidably connected to sides of said legs facing in the same direction, said slidable connections having positive limits of movement.

'10. 1*. walking doll comprising a body and legs, a pivot upon which said legs are confined between the sides of said body, a leg separating member carried by said body, a leg rocking lever fulcrumed upon said so aaratln member and formed with vertically, and loop connections between the arms of said lever and an outer face of each leg.

12. In a walking doll comprising a body and legs pivoted upon said body to swing thereon in walking, a lever bent up from wire and comprising an intermediate bearing loop, a pivot of sound-deadening material upon which said loop turns, said lever also comprising elongated end loops, and

sound-deadening material connected to the respective legs of the doll and loops through the respective end loops of said lever.

13. A walking doll comprising a head supporting cross piece, body side pieces depending from the ends of said cross piece, legs located between said side pieces, an intermediate body member depending from said cross piece between said legs, a pivotal support for each leg carried both by the adjacent side piece and by the intermediate member, and a leg controlling lever ful- (rrumed on said intermediate member and connected to the respective legs.

14. A walking doll comprising a head supporting cross piece, body side piecesdepending from the ends of said cross piece, legs located between said side pieces, an intermediate body member depending from said cross piece between said legs, a pivotal support for each leg carried both by the adjacent side piece and by the intermediate member, and a leg controlling lever fulcrumed on said intermediate member and having alost motion but positively limited connection with an outer face of each of said legs.

15. A walking doll comprising a head supporting cross piece, body side pieces depending from the end of said cross piece, legs located between said side pieces, a pivotal support for said legs extending between said side pieces, an intermediate body member separating said legs and through which said pivotal support also extends, and a leg controlling lever fulcr'umed on said intermediate member below said pivotal support and having a loop and strap connection with an outer face of each of said legs.

16. A walking doll comprising a head supporting cross piece, body side pieces depending from said cross piece, legs located aetween said side pieces, a pivotal support for said legs extending between said side pieces and upon whichsaid legs are pivoted substantially at their upper ends, an intermediate body member depending from said cross piece, separating said legs, providing a second support for the pivot of each leg and extending below said side pieces, and a lever fulcrumed upon said intermediate body member below the leg pivots and having a lost motion but positively limited connection with an outer face of each leg.

Signed at New York city, N. Y., this 2nd day of June 1920.

i KOHJONO. 

